Kagetsu Fights For Food: STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix 2018 Day Seven

September 22, 2018

Day Seven of the STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix is upon us with just a couple of actual tournament matches. This shorter show has just five matches on the card with two trios matches swallowing up the majority of the 5*GP pool.

In the first of two tournament matches, Rachael Ellering continued to befuddle and aggravate me by picking up a win over Tam Nakano in Red Stars Block. I DON’T GET IT! WHY?! Despite being in the ring with another brutal kick warehouse, Ellering was able to control herself and not throw a temper tantrum halfway through the match. That’s a pretty low bar to shoot for, but I guess it’s something. It seemed like Tam had a bit of kick trouble, to be honest, as many of her kicks aiming for the taller Ellering’s head landed more on the arm or shoulder. Ellering persevered with her alley-oop powerbomb for the three count and another two points. I’m starting to get very worried about Ellering winning the entire Red Stars Block.

In the second 5*GP match of the evening, Kagetsu was able to withstand Kimber Lee to grab two points in Red Stars Block. This puts Kagetsu at 9 points to Ellering’s 8 points. Ellering has two more matches left to make her points while Kagetsu just has Tam in her sights on 9/24. The match here was totally fine, though I still have trouble getting into Kimber Lee at all. Her pre-match promos are so underwhelming for me – they come off as her playing up her love of wrestling and wanting to earn the respect of the other wrestlers, but it all just falls so flat for me. It sounds a lot more like reading off of a cue card than someone actually pouring their hearts out in an interview. For as much as I dislike Ellering in the ring, she at least shows some personality in her pre-match promos. Kagetsu, in her promo, makes it clear her intention to win quickly and then enjoy some good food before heading to Osaka.

This one started off with Kimber standing strong against repeated shoulder blocks from Kagetsu while screaming like an insane person the entire time. I just don’t buy the intensity from Kimber here, or in general. All too often it feels like she’s openly playing the part of a wrestler when everybody else comes across so much more naturally. Kagetsu was able to utilize her speed, strength, and strikes to neutralize the larger Kimber before putting her away with a 450 splash from the top which looks like it connects way more with her knees than as a splash.

In the show opener, Shik☆d (Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid) took on Jamie Hayter and Nicole Savoy. These are my two standouts as far as the foreigners involved in the tournament go and they have a fun chemistry together in their pre-match promo. Savoy looks like an absolute giant against Shiki and Kid as the faster pair use their teamwork to keep her off-balance and off her gameplan. Savoy is finally able to slow things down by catching Kid in an attempted hurricanrana which she countered into a Boston Crab which escaped via rope break. She followed up with a camel clutch and surfboard to further weaken the back of the smaller Kid.

With Hayter tagged into the match, Shik☆d is able to once again use their double-team tactics to take their larger opponents off of their feet. Shiki can’t get Jamie up for a suplex, however, which opens her up to feeling the brunt of Hayter’s Falcon Arrow for just a two count. As Savoy held Kid at bay outside of the ring, Hayter pulled Shiki back up and nailed her with a Falcon Arrow lung blower to put this away for the team of foreigners. Hayter continues to look impressive in the ring despite only having 4 points in the block out of a potential 6.

In the first of two trios matches, the JAN team of Jungle Kyona, Leo Onozaki, and Natsuko Tora take on Oedo Tai’s Natsu Sumire and Hazuki with their partner Kelly Klein. Klein runs the pre-match promo with Natsu and Hazuki standing by. Once Klein wraps up, Natsu chimes in with “We understand. I don’t know everything you said, but we know what you mean.”

This one’s worth it if for nothing other than the improvised dance Oedo Tai perform to JAN’s entrance music. Klein, as expected, used her size and power to overcome until the numbers of JAN caught up with her in a triple-team. With some help from Natsu on the outside and Hazuki in the ring, Klein was able to regain her composure and dominate Leo while Hazuki repeatedly whipped Natsuko into rows of chairs in the crowd.

Leo took a ton of punishment from all three of her opponents until she was able to floor Natsu with a couple of elbows. This opened to door to a tag to the leader of JAN, Jungle Kyona, who was quick on the offensive. Kyona hit the ropes to continue her onslaught but was caught and held by Hazuki on the apron. Looking to capitalize, Natsu hit the far ropes but was similarly caught by Natsuko. Hazuki and Natsuko agreed to release their captives on the same count, but you can’t trust Oedo Tai – Natsuko released Natsu and was sent to the arena floor for her troubles while Hazuki held onto Jungle. Natsu charged in with a big boot which was avoided by Kyona sending Hazuki flying off of the apron.

This one came to a close in similar fashion to how it started – with Leo feeling the brunt of an Oedo Tai double-team. After a wheelbarrow-assist Code Breaker from Natsu and Hazuki, Leo was driven into the mat with a Michinoku Driver from Hazuki for the three count.

In the main event, and in another hard-fought trios match, the Queen’s Quest pairing of Konami, Momo Watanabe, and AZM battled STARS +1 in Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, and Utami Hayshishita. In their pre-match promo, STARS and Utami wished for a birthday victory for the rookie who is just turning twenty years-old.

The match kicks off with a pair of stalemates between Utami & AZM and Mayu & Konami before Momo is finally able to take control over Saki with some harsh kicks. After knocking Mayu and Utami off of the apron, QQ barrage Saki with a set of dropkicks and a running knee in the corner before all three choke her out with smiles on their faces. It really is impressive how happy Queen’s Quest looks whenever they’re pounding the ever-loving crap out of an opponent. We should all approach our jobs with the same positive attitude.

Saki, back in action after missing a show due to injury, is kept in isolation as the trio take turns punishing her. She’s finally able to escape Konami’s clutches long enough to make the tag to Utami who puts her power on display. Konami puts the brakes on a suplex attempt from Utami which brings in members of each team to join in until STARS +1 hits a big triple vertical suplex on Queen’s Quest.

This one stayed pretty back and forth until a missed moonsault put AZM on the mat. STARS took Konami and Momo out of the equation before Mayu dropped AZM with a German suplex followed by a frog splash from the top rope for the three.

Post-match, Mayu lets Utami close down the show in celebration of her birthday. Utami promises that, in her twenties, she’ll try to do her best before leading everybody in the STARDOM S pose.

There are only a few shows left in the 5*GP, so let’s check in with the standings at the end of Day Seven!

Kagetsu Fights For Food: STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix 2018 Day Seven

Red Stars Block

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